Tackle-block



PATENTED SEPT. 20, 1 904.

H. L. FERRIS.

TACKLE BLOCK.

APPLICATION FILED JAN 22 1904 N0 MODEL,

UNTTED STATES Patented September 20, 1904.

PATENT Orricn.

HENRY L. FERRIS, OF HARVARD, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO HUNT, I-IELM, FERRIS & COMPANY, OF HARVARD, ILLINOIS; A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

TACKLE-:BLOCK.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 770,520, dated September 20, 1904.

Application filed January 22, 1904. Serial No. 190,106. (No model.)

To ail whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, HENRY L. FERRIS, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Harvard, in the county of McHenry and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Tackle-Blocks, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in tackle-blocks; and its object is to produce a device of this class which shall have certain advantages which will appear more fully and at large in the course of this specification.

To this end my invention consists in certain novel features of construction, which are clearly illustrated in the drawings and described in this specification.

In the aforesaid drawings, Figure 1 is an elevation of my improved tackle-block shown in connection with a second block and a connecting-rope. Fig. 2 is a bottom plan of the device as shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a section in the line 3 3 of Fig. 2, and Fig. i is a section in the line i 4 of Fig. 3.

The block at the left in Figs. 1 and 2 is the one herein illustrated which embodies my invention, this block being shown in conjunction with a second block of ordinary form arranged to carry a suitable wire-clamping jaw, the block at the left being illustrated with a hook of the form ordinarily used in wire-stretchers for attaching the device to a suitable support. The entire structure as thus assembled makes a very effective wirestretcher, and the block is primarily designed for such use. It, however, could be very advantageously used in any connection where any self-locking block is desirable, and it is not my intention by showing it in conjunction with a wire-stretcher to limit myself in any way to its use in that connection.

Referring now to the block of Fig. 2, it will be seen thatacentral plate A is provided having oppositely-extending integral gudgeons a near its center and oppositely-extending arms a on opposite sides of said gudgeons. At one end of this plate is a hook A,

heretofore referred to, and at the opposite end is an eye A to which one end of the rope used is attached. Two grooved pulleys B of ordinary form are journaled on the gudgeons a, and outside these pulleys are side plates 0 slipped up over the oppositely projecting arms a and held in place by heading said arms upon them. In this way a double block of ordinary type is obtained. D indicates a rope-clamping device of the particular construction to which my invention relates. This rope-clamping device consists of a tube which is opened along one side near its end for some distance and is flattened out to form two flat plates 0?, which straddle one of the pulleys of the block,the pulley-gudgeons passing through slots cZ in these flat portions. Each of the flat portions cl is provided with an outwardlyextending gudgeon 6Z2, the said gudgeons being journaled in holes 0 in the central plate A and the adjacent side plate 0, the pivotal line of the clamping member being eccentric with respect to the gudgeons of the pulleys and so situated with respect thereto that when the clamping member is rotated upon its pivot in the same direction in which the pulley rotates to let out the rope passing over it the clamping member will approach the center of the pulley. The clamping member is provided at its end with a serrated portion D, which lies next the rope.

The operation of this device will be very readily apparent. A rope is threaded over the two blocks, as illustrated in the drawings, and through the tubular portion of the clamping member. When it is desired to cause the blocks to approach each other, the rope is pulled in line with the parallel strands. When, however, it is desired to lock the parts in po sition and support any weight which may be attached to the system of blocks, the loose end of the rope is swung away from a line connecting the two blocks, thereby swinging the clamping member upon its pivot. This throws the serrated portion of the clamping member in contact with the rope and wedges the rope between this portion and the pulley.

The loose end of the rope can then be released entirely, and the greater the tension on the system the stronger will be the clamping action, for the reason that as the rope tends to pull off the pulley it also tends to swing the -clamping member about its pivot and into closer and closer contact with the rope andpulley. The clamping action, therefore, increases with the weight on the rope. When it is desired to release the weight, all that it is necessary to do is to give the rope a slight pull and swing the tubular member inward and the parts will become loosened and the rope will be free to run on.

I realize that considerable variation is possible in the details of this construction without departing from the spirit of the invention, and I therefore do not intend to limit myself to the specific form herein shown and described.

I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent The combination with a suitable frame, a

pulley journaled therein and a rope running 20 over the pulley, of a clamping member having side plates which embrace the pulley and are slotted for the passage of the shaft thereof, gudgeons on said side platesengaging with the frame to form an eccentric pivot, a serrated portion on said clamping member, adapted to contact with the rope and a tubular portion thereon adapted to surround the rope and rotate the clamping member as the rope is moved.

In witness whereof I have signed the above application for Letters Patent at Harvard, in the county of McHenry and State of Illinois, this 6th day of January, A. D. 1904.

HENRY L. FERRIS.

Witnesses:

BLAKE B. BELL, W. S. DODGE. 

